COIMBATORE l sunday l january 19, 2025 l `12.00 l PAGES 24 l LATE CITY EDITION Rohit & Co turn to experience for Champions Trophy 2025 Mohammed Shami returns amid concern over Jasprit Bumrah’s participation as India gear up for ODIs vs England and CT in February spinners and all-rounders in focus Arshdeep picked ahead of siraj The selection committee has picked four spinners in Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja with India playing all their games in Dubai. The three spin-bowling all-rounders along with Hardik Pandya, who can exploit the conditions with his cutters, will be in focus as India look to win their first 50-over ICC title since 2013 ■ ■ With uncertainity over Bumrah’s injury, India have gone for Arshdeep instead of Siraj in what is his best format Calling it unfortunate, Rohit Sharma said that Singh’s ability to bowl in the back end was cruical considering Bumrah’s situation. India play three ODIs against England and CT in Dubai next month | P11 2013 The last time India won the champions Trophy CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI Rape-murder accused in RG Kar case guilty: court Quantum of sentence on Monday; victim’s family seek further probe S u l a g n a Se n g u p ta @ Kolkata Huntings Horizon S GE PLUS 12 PA A Sealdah court on Saturday held 33-year-old former civic volunteer Sanjoy Roy guilty in the August 9, 2024 horrific rapemurder of a 31-year-old doctor at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, under three sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The quantum of sentence will be pronounced on Monday . In a chilling reminder to the 2012 Nirbhaya case in Delhi, the gruesome rape-murder of the post-graduate trainee doctor shook the nation’s consciousness, with massive and sustained protests erupting across West Bengal and the country The state almost came . to standstill with people from all walks of life joining the protests against the ghastly crime and the administration’s alleged apathy and inaction. Roy who was produced in the , packed courtroom amid tight security, was found guilty under Sections 64 (rape), 66 (punishment for causing death), and 103(1) (murder) of the BNS. Section 103(1) carries a possi- Shuttler complains of smog, bird-droppings a n m o l g u r u n g @ New Delhi Pollution and lack of hygiene — two most infamous reared their heads during India Open badminton here on Saturday The elite inter. national badminton (BWF Super 750-level) event came under criticism for ‘birddropping’ on courts and ‘dirt’. There have been instances when international cricket matches were affected due to pollution but the concern here is the conditions inside the indoor hall. Denmark shuttler Mia Blichfeldt, World No 23, termed the conditions at the KD Jadav Stadium to be ‘unhealthy and unacceptable’. She lost 12-21, 21-16, 21-8 against China’s Wang Zhi Yi in the 2nd round and during a postmatch interaction revealed about falling sick to BWF. “Finally home after a long and stressful week in India. It’s been 2 years in a row now that I get sick during the India Open. It’s really hard to accept that many weeks of work and preparing gets wasted because of bad conditions,” Blichfeldt posted on her official Instagram handle. “It’s not fair to anyone that we have to train and play in smog, birds shitting on the courts and dirt everywhere. These conditions are too unhealthy and unacceptable. @bwf...” The Badminton Association of India said that they are exploring alternate venues for next edition. “As the host and staging authority ..., the BAI gains access to the stadium and its infrastructure only four days before the event.” The stadium is maintained by SAI. erode east by-poll Fifty-five nominations, including that of DMK candidate VC Chandhirakumar and NTK candidate MK Seethalakshmi, were accepted for the Erode East bypoll on Saturday | P4 File picture of accused Sanjoy Roy Accused could get death penalty or life Maximum sentence for the accused is death penalty or imprisonment for life as he has been convicted under Section 103(1). Punishment under Section 64 is at least 10 years and can go up to life ble punishment of death or life imprisonment. The in-camera trial ended on January 9. In the court, Roy reiterated that he was being framed while his lawyers tried to calm him down. When he was being taken out of the court, he claimed that a “certain IPS” knew everything. Ceasefire will start at 6.30 am GMT (12 pm IST) on Sunday Among the 33 Israeli captives being freed in the first phase, 9 ill and wounded will be freed first in exchange of 110 Palestinian prisoners with life sentences @ Chennai In the last four months, the number of tanks that have reached their full capacity in Tamil Nadu has gone up from 450 to 5,455, thanks to the copious rainfall during the northeast monsoon season. This is almost twice the number compared to the same period last year (January 2024) when just 2,914 tanks were full. The Tamil Nadu Water Resources Department (WRD) manages 14,410 irrigation tanks across the state. Currently 3,751 , tanks have water levels ranging from 76% to 99%, while 182 tanks are bone dry Officials said lack . of water inflow due to encroach- ments of inlets may have led to drying of these tanks. “Compared to the previous monsoon, the state has sufficient water storage in irrigation tanks this year. In 22 districts, including Chengalpattu, Tiruvannamalai, Villupuram, and Pudukkottai, there are zero dry tanks,” a senior WRD official told TNIE. The official added that improved water storage will help recharge groundwater in dry regions. The official, however, said that of the estimated 5,000 tanks in Chennai, Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram, and Chengalpattu districts, WRD now manages only Saif Ali Khan Special teams Mumbai Police, which had formed 30 teams to nab the suspect, had collected CCTV footage from a shop in Dadar visited by the man The intruder was not part of any gang, and was not even aware whose house he had entered Mumbai police J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi IN a breakthrough that came after more than two days, the Railway Protection Force (RPF) detained a suspect in connection with the knife attack on Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan. The accused, identified as Aakash Kannojia, 32, a resident of Mumbai, was apprehended after he got down from the Jnaneshwari Express at Durg station on Saturday . Acting on key inputs, the RPF had shared the suspect’s image and mobile number with neighbouring states and RPF teams. A team of RPF personnel searched for the suspect at Rajnandgaon station but couldn’t locate him. However, another team at Durg station successfully detained Kannojia from the general compartment of the train. The suspect is believed to have activated his mobile phone at Dongargarh station, about an hour before the train reached Rajnandgaon. The suspect, who was traveling without a ticket, told RPF cops that he was headed to Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh. However, sources said that Kannojia was actually on his way to visit his maternal grandmother in Janjgir-Champa, about 120 km from Raipur. Mumbai Police, who had escalated the search after a furore over the stabbing attack on the celebrity are expected to arrive in Durg late on , Saturday to probe Kannojia’s involvement in the attack on the actor. The actor was rushed to Lilavati hospital after being stabbed on Thursday morning and underwent surgery . A voice note from former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, detailing how she and her sister Rehana narrowly escaped death when they fled the country last August, has been shared online by her party, Awami League. In the recording, the 77-yearold leader’s voice trembles as she expresses gratitude to Allah for sparing her life. She accuses her political opponents of conspiring to kill her. She says: “Rehana and I survived — just 20-25 minutes apart, we escaped death,” adding that the alleged assassination attempt last year was not the first such plot against her life. Reflecting on the close calls Sheikh Hasina she has had, Hasina adds: “I just feel that surviving the killings on August 21, or surviving the huge bomb in Kotalipara, surviving this time on August 5, 2024, must be the will of Allah. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have survived. You later saw how they planned to kill me.” In her message, she turned emotional about her forced exile in India, leaving her country Hasina said, “Although I am . suffering, I am without my country without my home, eve, rything has been burned.” After Hasina fled, the protests, which were alleged to have opposition backing, overwhelmed Dhaka and claimed over 600 lives. 1,200 Hamas has agreed to free killed in israel after hamas’ october ’23 raid three female hostages on Day 1 of the deal, four on Day 7, and the remaining 26 over the following five weeks  After the last hostage release in stage one, on day 42, Israeli forces will begin their withdrawal and complete it in no later than day 50 | P9 46K Israeli troops return from Gaza Strip on Saturday | AP CM: BJP wants to bring one-party rule via ONOE E x p r e s s Ne w s Se r v i c e @ Chennai Holy dip Defence Minister Rajnath Singh takes a holy dip at the Sangam during the Maha Kumbh Mela on Saturday 1,551 tanks as the remaining ones have been encroached upon. “We are taking legal steps with the support of revenue and police officials to retrieve the tanks,” the official said. The state government has also instructed authorities to identify old tanks using revenue records, he said. K Balasubramani, state secretary, Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam, said, “Sufficient water in irrigation tanks will enable farmers in delta districts and western region to cultivate shortterm crops such as black gram, green gram, and millets, boosting foodgrain production in the coming months.”  P5 Sufficient water in irrigation tanks will enable farmers in delta districts and western region to cultivate short-term crops such as black gram, green gram, & millets — TN Vivasayigal Sangam Was 25 mins away from jaws of death, says Hasina E j a z k a i s e r @ Raipur Israel-Hamas truce kicks in today At 5,445, number of irrigation tanks that are full up two-fold compared to last year S GURUVANMIKANATHAN In his 160-page judgment, the judge said, “You (Roy) sexually assaulted the doctor. You throttled her and covered her face and she ultimately died owing to the attack. On the basis of these allegations, charges were framed against you under Sections 64, 66 and 103(1) of BNS. On the basis of the statements of the witnesses and the documents produced in this matter, your guilt has been proved.” After the order, the father of the deceased doctor said, “The trust we had placed in you, you have honoured it completely.” However, her mother said justice had not been fully served. The junior doctors, who led the protests, called for further probe into the larger conspiracy and said their agitation would continue. Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly Suvendu Adhikari said likewise. “We welcome the judgment. But we would have been happier if the former principal of R G Kar hospital, Sandip Ghosh, and former Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal were also punished today he said. ,” Sixty hours on, Saif attack suspect held in C’garh rly station Chilling Note Chief Minister M K Stalin on Saturday flayed the BJP government at the centre on the ‘one nation, one election’ (ONOE) proposal, and said the plan could lead to erosion of federalism and consolidation of power in the hands of one individual. “We should oppose ‘one nation, one election’ plan of the BJP because it wants to bring one party rule in the country The BJP . government wants one religion, one language, one culture, uniform dress code, and one cuisine. That’s why it wants to thrust simultaneous polls on the nation,” Stalin said at the third state conference of the DMK’s legal wing held in Chennai on Satutday He called upon BJP’s allies and all dem. ocratic forces to oppose the move and save the country and the Constitution. The BJP wants to destroy the states in order to establish one government at the centre. “This is the BJP’s long term plan. It wants to thrust simultaneous polls to create a situation for a M K Stalin single poll for the entire nation. This will pave the way for unitary rule in the country,” he said. “The move would lead to conferring powers on one individual, which is not good even for the BJP The amendment would be useful to . make Prime Minister Narendra Modi a dictator but it does not augur well for democracy the DMK president said. ,” “BJP allies that are supporting the party for political reasons should not fall into the trap of BJP and the organisations that control it. It may be your prerogative to support the BJP but I urge you through this meeting , to oppose the move,” he said. The CM accused the BJP of leveraging misinformation campaigns to further its agenda. “Their strategy includes spreading falsehoods, using the media to frame debates, and deploying WhatsApp propaganda,” Stalin said.  P5 palestinians killed by israel since octob er ’23